Divisive Oscar-Winning Music Biopic Is Coming to Netflix in April
How can a film be one of the most-watched movies awarded at the Oscars in recent years (or even decades), but consistently rank highly in "Worst Oscar-Winning Films" lists? Well, you can ask both audiences and critics when the 2018 movie Bohemian Rhapsody returns to streaming.
The film follows the story of iconic rock band Queen, namely its powerhouse frontman, Freddie Mercury, played by Rami Malek. Drummer Roger Taylor, bassist John Deacon, and guitarist Brian May are played by Ben Hardy, Joe Mazzello, and Gwilym Lee, respectively. The film follows the band's early days and meteoric rise to fame, struggles in the spotlight, and culminates at the band's iconic Live Aid show performance in 1985, juxtaposed in the film as being just after Mercury's AIDs diagnosis, which would ultimately claim his life in 1991 — although real-life sources claim his diagnosis wasn't until later.
Bohemian Rhapsody received a rare "A" audience grade on CinemaScore upon its release, thanks in part to its close recreation of key performances, as well as Malek's ability to embody the iconic frontman. However, reviewers weren't so glowing about the film, citing its cookie-cutter plot, overuse of biopic clichés, and accusations of whitewashing Mercury's sexuality and lifestyle to make him more palatable for mainstream audiences. Although he was later replaced by filmmaker Dexter Fletcher, director of the Elton John biopic Rocketman, the studio's decision to have controversial director Bryan Singer at the helm didn't help sway cinephiles, either.
On Rotten Tomatoes, for example, the biopic has an 85% audience score, but just scrapes a "fresh" score from critics, with many of its more positive reviews still highly mixed. The film took home four Oscars out of five nominations at the 91st Academy Awards back in 2019, including Best Actor for Malek, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing, narrowly missing out on Best Picture. The film has been listed as one of the worst Oscar-winning films by The Independent, Collider, and Far Out Magazine, to name a few publications that weren't as warm to the biopic as The Academy. So how good — or bad — is the film, actually? Well, you'll be able to decide for yourself, once Netflix drops the film on its streaming service in the near future.
Bohemian Rhapsody lands on Netflix U.S. on April 1.